Abstract:
PURPOSE: Maxillofacial fractures, especially fractures of the mandible, are common among the trauma patients admitted to the emergency department.
MATERIALS and METHODS: Sixty- three patients admitting to our emergency department or outpatient clinic between January 2008 and December 2011 with a diagnosis of mandible fracture who have been surgically treated have been included in our study. Records of these patients have been retrospectively analyzed regarding gender, age, etiology, and anatomic location of the fracture.
RESULTS: A total of 74 fractures (1.17 fractures per patient) were detected in 63 patients. Female/male ratio was approximately 1/4. The mean age of the patients was 28.4. Etiology of the trauma was traffic accidents in 51% and interpersonal violence in 28%. Most commonly fractured anatomic sites were symphyseal (56%) and corpus regions (22%).
CONCLUSION: Maxillofacial fractures are common among patients with maxillofacial or generalized body trauma in the emergency settings. Due to the tendency towards interpersonal violence and to longer time spent in traffic, most of these patients are male at the third decade of life. Traffic accidents and violence are the most common etiological factors for these fractures; however, number of the trauma patients due to traffic accidents is clearly declining due to more frequent controls in traffic regulations.
